The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-06-16
ORANGE SPRING.
Florida Twenty Years Ago-Laek of SOAK
ing Rains-Improved Orange Prospects.
Corresponding ofths Pdldtkd Nelcs.

Though fate has left us a little on tbs
outside edge of the busy mart of the rail
road world, it makes us none the less
worthy. 1t takes not an inch off our
beautiful village site. Its beautiful, gen.
| tly undulating plain, studded by males
tic pines, live oaks; its health invigora-
ting sulphur spring and its lovely orange
trees, as well as its married ones from
| gross neglect, lose no intrinsic value.
True the treasure may continue un-
earthed, but you know, reader, the lane
that has no turn has not yet been found.
Nor has the blast of ill winds" been
| continuous
The future of F1orida's greatness has
only begun. What will be her status
twenty years hence: Her thousands of
undeveloped acres will be thriving gar
den farms. Her rich low lands will be
fields of waving cane. Every garden
farm will be skirted or hedged by the
orange. The right of way to railroads
will be filed with fiourishing groves,
even the road beds will be ornamental
by the golden fruit.
Go back twenty years when every in
terest of our State seemed to be clothed
with irnprobabilities, when there
seemed to be scarcely any positive evil
dence as to her true merits, and yet, not
withstanding these conditions, what has
been her progress? The city of Palatka
is beautiful model. Her suburban vii
lagos, Interlachen, San Mateo, Crescent
City, and many others, are all evidences,
as it were, in embryo, as to what is to
be. If such progress has been made
when Florida was only an experimental
field, now that the cloud of uncertainties
has passed off, whose pen can give a
faint idea as to her future Aladdin strides:
Then, we are not without a prospect.
Roads must be built to accommodate the
great traffic that is to follow. The fer
tile Ochlawaha Valley must have its
road. Your city must have direct con-
nection with progressive Ocala. Jack
sonville too must do likewise The rail-
road syndicateS centering in Jackson
vile must send their feeders into the in
terror As much of the space has al
ready been penetrated, new lines must
| seek those yet untouched. Orange
| Springs location is such, that to reach
any of the rich interior, or beautiful
Gulf regions such lines will naturally
pass here. More anon on this point.
The long drought is at last broken. 1t
is mercy to famished vegetation. This
drought setting in on the lap of those
that followed for the last three or four
years was having most disastrous effect
| on vegetation, especially the orange. 1t
is claimed that very large per cent. of
the orange is water. l think nearly 80
per cent.
The rains for the last three or four
years have mainly been surface showers.
The subsoil has been dry comparatively.
| The orange, with its long tap root,
| gathers in its moisture mainly through
them. In consequence of the suhsoil be-
ing scarce of moisture, the tree has felt
the effects. This, cause, | think, pro-
duces the yellow color so common at
this season.
Capt. Robert Harrison and ID. b.
Enecks have Just had the sulphur spring
leveed. Heretofore much surface water
| found its way into the bed of the spring.
1t is now cut off. The sulphurous fumes
will now be as if they animated directly
from sulphurous helis. Summer visitors
are beginning to arrive. Many inauirers
| give fiattering prospects of large num-
beers of visitors during the summer.
1 D,,tlaf1a,a I,- Of
| your city, is here ON business visit. He
has been exhibiting his orange dropper,
which meets with universal approval. 1t
is without doubt the sine qui non, the
very thing the orange grower needs 1t
is a labor saving machine of the first or
| der. Heretofore the continuous ascend
| ing and descending of the ladder has
been one of the fatiguing difficulties.
This pdroper, which is light and easily
| handled, is placed beside the ladder.
| The picker, whether at the top or mid
way, finds pockets to drop the oranges
in from whence, by simple adjustment
of bag, kept taut by most simple ar
Engagements, the fruit descends to the
barrel or box. With it the picker need
climb the ladder but once, however
numerous the fruit may be within reach,
all can be gathered without descending.
Messrs. Lopez & Hunter will manu-
\ facture them here.
The health of Orange Spring is good.
Quite a revival has just closed, and
many of the Maynard Were gathered
into the moral folds of the church. Law
abiding citizens have, fortunately, COM
posed the villages. 1t is pleasant to
meet former citizens and visitors and
listen to their extolling eulogies on old
| Orange Spring of former days.
| In Florida, where such a diversified
element is constantly coming in, bad
elements frequently follow. We have
been comparatively free from this
scOurge, but not wholly SO.
Beautiful seasons for the last twenty
hours.
The orange crop is only a moderate
| one. 1t will be better than anticipated a
month ago, as the scanty bloom and
dropping of the fruit, from continuous
dry spells, led all to think but little was
left. Since their growth to visible sizes,
we conclude we are not so poor as once
| apprehended.
| We have another small enterprise in
progress. Mr.. Thompson is making
hoops for orange boxes He makes a
beautiful, well shaped hoop, equal to
those on the market. One decided adj
vantage will be found in his. They will
be free from worms, that so often de-
stroy old hoops kept on hand too long.